Hand Crush
by MadmanJrs
Summary: Todoroki Shouto genuinely believed his curse as the Hand Crusher. It affected those that were close to him and he couldn't help but feel responsible when it happened to another person he held dear: Yaoyorozu Momo. [TodoMomo]


Todoroki Shouto genuinely believed he was cursed. He had become the bearer of the dreaded curse of the "Hand Crusher." It was something that affected those he would consider close friends. The first victim had been Midoriya, though to be fair, that boy constantly injured himself due to the raw power of his Quirk. The next victim was the Class Rep Iida who had told his friends that his injured hand would likely never heal completely. It was then that Shouto revealed to them his hypothesis. He was cursed as the Hand Crusher. His friends had laughed it off, thinking Shouto was joking but he was dead serious. The next victim had all but confirmed it.

While he would consider everyone else as acquaintances bordering on near friends (except maybe Bakugo and Mineta), there were only three people he would say he was close to. Midoriya, Iida and the girl that sat beside him in class, Yaoyorozu Momo. Like him, she was a recommended student and came from a rather prestigious family. She was highly intelligent, a very helpful person and generally from what he heard from others, incredibly beautiful. He was inclined to agree.

Other than his Mother and Older Sister, there weren't very many women Shouto would consider himself close to but lately it seemed Yaoyorozu Momo had joined them. After their joint effort against Aizawa in the Final Exam, Shouto found himself around the Creation Hero more and more. They had gotten into the habit of regularly studying together as well as occasionally eating their meals at the same time or simply just conversing casually. He genuinely enjoyed her company and he would go as far to consider her one of his closest friends.

But then it happened. The Hand Crusher's Curse had claimed another victim. Class 1A was training inside Gym Gamma, once again attempting more moves to their arsenal. Shouto had been training to use both his Quirks at the same time when he accidentally flared his flames too strongly against his ice, shattering it and sending large shards of ice everywhere. That's when he saw one heading directly towards Momo.

"Yaoyorozu! Watch out!" He bellowed.

She had just enough time to react as a block of ice sped through the air. Instinctively, she raised her hands up to shield her face and it struck her left hand. Shouto's stomach dropped when he heard her cry in pain. Everyone around them had stopped and Jirou Kyouka had rushed over to her friend. Shouto couldn't help but look at his own hands in anguish. His curse had affected another one of his friends.

"I'm okay! I'm okay!" he could hear Momo say, trying to reassure their class.

Aizawa sensei motioned Kyouka to take Momo to Recover Girl. Before she left their eyes met and she gave him a rather reassuring smile. A smile he didn't deserve. He and this blasted curse had hurt her after all.

"Alright, continue on. You still have 20 minutes til class ends." Aizawa said.

Everyone in the class went back to their training. All but Shouto Todoroki who had been staring down at his hands. If only these hands were the ones that suffered instead of his friends. Maybe he should keep his distance from now on.

* * *

It had been a week since the incident had happened. Recovery Girl hadn't done too much to heal Momo's hand as it had only been some bruising. On first glance it looked worse than it actually was and judging from Shouto's reaction, Momo could tell he felt bad about it even if it were just an accident. She had known the boy well enough that she could read some of his more subtle emotions. Not that she spent a lot of time with her attention on the Half and Half Hero. They were close friends and it didn't help that he was stupidly handsome and interacted with her more frequently than he did with others.

Okay so she did have a little crush on him which is why it hurt right now. He was avoiding her. She knew he felt guilty about it even if it was an accident. They normally studied together at least twice a week but when Momo went to approach him about studying he seemed to just disappear. Sitting beside him in class felt a lot more awkward than it used to. When he had to reply to her, he kept his sentences as short as he could. After a few days, Momo had enough and wanted it to go back to how they were. She decided to enact a plan.

"Um, Todoroki-san?" she asked "Could I borrow your notes? I messed up with mine."

He raised a curious eyebrow. Yaoyorozu Momo never messed up her notes. But then again, he supposed there was a first time for everything. He nodded and pulled out the sheets he had been writing on. He tried to avoid her gaze and handed it to her when he heard her yelp.

"What happened?" He asked.

He turned to find Momo sucking on her index finger.

"It's nothing, just a paper cut."

"I'm so sorry!" He said as he reached into his bag for a band-aid.

"No it's alright," Momo tried to reassure him.

She yelped again when he suddenly took hold of her hand.

"Good, it's stopped bleeding at least." He noted.

Momo blushed lightly at her hand being held by Shouto Todoroki. His grip was rather firm but his touch was softer than she had been expecting. She watched him carefully as he removed the band-aid from the wrappings. He was just about to remove the next layer when he stopped in his tracks. She looked at him curiously before he placed it in her hand.

"… Sorry." He simply said before packing up his things and leaving.

Her black eyes watched him disappear through the door. What exactly had happened?

* * *

The short walk back to the 1A dorms gave Shouto a moment to contemplate what just happened. It seemed his curse had evolved from the "Hand Crusher" to now the "Hand Cutter". He had hurt Yaoyorozu's hand once again.

_'Her hand…'_

It was incredibly soft and he had no doubt she used a very expensive hand cream. Her fingers were long and delicate, ready to break under the Curse of the Hand Crusher. No, he couldn't let that happen. She was too important to him. He had been avoiding her all week and for a while it was working up until today. As he walked into the dormitories he resolved himself to tell her to stay away from him lest she get hurt again. He just had to figure out how.

* * *

"You alright, Yaomomo?"

Momo looked up from her position on the couch where she was doing some light reading after dinner. Or at least, attempting to. Clearly her friend had noticed.

"I'm fine, Kyouka." She replied.

Kyouka didn't look convinced and Momo could tell. What happened with Shouto earlier had been weighing on her mind. Was it because he still felt bad about what had happened to her hand during training or was there something more? The pessimist in her couldn't help but over think the situation. Did she possibly do something that might offend him or turn him off? The thought didn't help but make her feel down. In fact, the boy in question hadn't even come down to eat dinner at the same time as the rest of them. He was definitely avoiding her.

"Is it Todoroki?" Kyouka bluntly asked.

"Wh-what?!" Momo squeaked.

"So it is." Kyouka smirked.

Momo blushed bright red and shook her head.

"No it's not! It's just um…" she trailed off.

Kyouka wasn't convinced at all.

"Alright fine, it is."

Kyouka sat up and faced her best friend.

"So what happened? Did you accidentally blurt your feelings for him or something?" She asked.

Momo's cheeks flushed bright red again.

"No! Nothing of that sort happened."

"Is he still moping over what happened last week?"

Momo gently nodded.

"I think so… he's been avoiding me ever since but earlier today…" Momo answered

"Earlier today?" Kyouka prodded.

Momo's cheeks stayed the shade of pink they had been for a while.

"He um, well he held my hand for a bit." She blushed.

"Ohoho what's this?! When?"

Kyouka Jirou was practically beaming right now.

"It was after class. I asked him to borrow his notes and I accidentally cut my finger on the paper when he took hold of it." Momo explained.

Kyouka eyed her hands and could see a band-aid wrapped around one of her fingers.

"Aw did he put that band-aid on you himself?" She teased.

Her friend shook her head.

"I think he was about to but he suddenly got up and left."

Kyouka could notice the rather sad smile that had appeared on Momo's face.

"Maybe Todoroki's just bad with women?" She tried to joke.

"Maybe…" Momo sighed "Though I don't really see him interacting with the other girls too often and when he does, he seems fine."

_'You would notice that.'_ Kyouka thought but figured it'd be better not to say that.

"Maybe he's just bad with you."

"Wh-what?!" Momo squeaked.

Kyouka couldn't help but laugh.

"Maybe he likes you."

"He does not!" Momo practically screech "At least, well… I don't think so."

"I beg to differ." Kyouka mumbled under her breath.

Anyone with eyes could tell there was something going on between the two recommended students of Class 1A. Anyone but them.

"So what are you going to do?" she asked.

Momo shrugged.

"I don't really know." She sighed "Should I talk to him?"

"Yeah, you should."

"What do I even say?"

Momo looked up at Kyouka with pleading eyes. She wanted to fix whatever had caused this distance between her and Todoroki. She noticed Kyouka fidget in her seat.

"Well uh whatever you plan on doing, you better think of it quickly." Kyouka said.

"Why?"

"Because he's coming this way."

Momo's eyes widened as she turned and indeed saw Shouto Todoroki walking towards them. There was an unreadable expression on his face. She swallowed the saliva in her mouth and looked at him. She could feel her heart about to jump out of her chest as he calmly spoke in that stupid sexy deep voice of his.

"Do you have a moment to talk, Yaoyorozu?"

"Oh um… yes," she answered.

Momo looked at Kyouka for moral support but was met with a rather sly and playful smirk. Well she shouldn't have expected too much help from her.

"Could we go somewhere more private?" Shouto asked.

Momo could feel her throat dry up. What did he want to talk about? Was he going to reject her before she could confess? Wait no, she shouldn't think about things like that. She valued her friendship with him and this was a chance to try and repair that. She followed him outside and they soon found themselves sitting on one of the nearby benches. Momo couldn't help but note the distance at which they sat.

_'On opposite ends, really…'_

For a good minute there was silence and Momo thought she might have to say something but that was when Shouto spoke.

"Yaoyorozu."

The way his deep voice said her name did all kinds of things to her. The girl inside her wanted him to use her first name instead. No, thinking about things like that wasn't why they were there.

"I don't know the best way to say this but…" he continued and she could feel her heart about to drop "I think its best we stay away from each other."

Momo could feel her stomach drop into itself. What brought this on? Did she do something to offend him? Did he feel that she was getting hurt because of him? Both times were accidents. She was about to say something when he spoke instead and what came out of his mouth was something she least expected.

"It seems I am the bearer of a curse like… like I'm some sort of Hand Crusher."

What tension that had been in the air completely left the vicinity as Momo couldn't help but laugh. The way he had said it as well. His face was completely serious and the tone of his voice was as composed as it normally was. What kind of name was a 'Hand Crusher' anyways? He looked at her in a confused way. His curse was something amusing? Midoriya and Iida had the same reaction but he didn't expect Yaoyorozu to laugh as well.

"I'm sorry, Todoroki-san." Momo giggled.

He could've been mad but that giggle that Momo just let out was incredibly cute. She scooted over a little closer.

"Tell me about your 'curse'."

His eyes met hers and he could tell that she wasn't actually making fun of him. In fact, he could see this soft and gentle expression that she wanted to understand him.

"Well, it seems those I become close to end up suffering injuries to their hands." He explained "It first happened to Midoriya, then Iida and…"

"And now me." Momo finished for him.

He nodded.

"And now you."

They went back to silence and Shouto could notice Momo moving around in her seat a little. Did what he say make her uncomfortable? Was he the only one that thought they were close? He hoped that didn't scare her off but maybe that would be a good thing if it could help her avoid his curse.

"So you consider me someone close to you?" She asked.

"I do."

There was no hesitation in his voice and that filled her with all sorts of feelings.

"But why were you so distant this week? Because of your curse?" She asked.

Momo knew that in all likelihood, no such curse existed. But if he genuinely believed it and was letting it get in the way of their friendship, she wanted to help him.

"I just… I don't want people I care about to get hurt because of me."

Momo could tell there was much more to this 'curse' than what she expected. Perhaps Shouto had poured some of his true feelings into the idea of it without knowing. As if he subconsciously thought of it as the reason why people around him got hurt and she knew that wasn't true at all.

"I don't think it's because of you, Todoroki-san." She said in the most assuring way she could "We're training to be heroes and that entails getting injured every now and then."

"But I did hurt you."

"It was an accident." Momo said firmly.

She moved closer and placed her left hand on top of his.

"See? It's not even bruised anymore."

Shouto couldn't help but take note of the softness of her hand once again. He then noticed the band-aid that he had given her wrapped around her finger.

"But look, I even cut your finger by mistake." He said "You're not safe from my curse."

"I thought it was Hand Crusher and not Finger Cutter." She teased.

"Momo that's…"

They both stopped in their tracks. He had used her first name and he never used anyone's first name. Not even Midoriya's.

"I'm sorry, that was presumptuous of me." He quickly apologized.

"No I didn't mind… in fact." She took a slight breath "I would like you to use my first name."

"But I-" he began before she cut him off.

"You said you considered me someone close to you so I would like you to call me by my first name… Shouto."

The way his name rolled off her tongue was like honey to his ears. He looked down at the ground.

"But those close to me get hurt." He softly said.

"Shouto, like I said, we're training to heroes." She reiterated "It can't be helped that I might get hurt sometimes."

"But I don't want you to get hurt."

She felt him grip onto the hand that was still resting on top of his.

"Shouto," she said his name again "I'm not so fragile that every little scratch or strike is going to wound me."

It seemed what she said caused him to panic a little.

"Oh no that's not what I meant!" He quickly spluttered out "I did not mean to offend you and think of you as weak. You know I believe the oppos-"

The placement of her finger on his lips silenced him.

"I know, Shouto." She said with a smile "You've told me before how much you believed in me and I always strive to live up to those expectations."

She removed her finger from his lips and lowered her hand into his hands.

"I just have this feeling that like…" She felt him grip her hands "I know you're strong but… I just don't want anything happening to you or the people I care about. Especially if it's because of my actions."

"Shouto, I don't know if I'm the best person to tell you this but," Momo said before taking a breath "The people you care about getting hurt is because of our own actions." She paused for a moment "And that includes whatever happens with our hands."

She looked up at Shouto who appeared to want to say something but held his tongue.

"What is it?" She asked.

"No, it's stupid." He shook his head.

"Hey, if it's something bothering you, I want you to talk about it and not hold it in."

He noticed the pleading in her eyes and relented. How could he say no to her when she looked at him like that? He took a breath and spoke.

"Well, it's just… it kind of hurts to see something happen to your beautiful hands."

It was then that every bit of blood in Momo's body rushed to her face. How could he say something like that with such a straight face?! She almost instinctively pushed him away so she could hide her face in her hands if they weren't still resting in his grasps.

"Todor-Shouto!" She practically screeched before she quieted down "I um, my hands aren't that pretty…"

She could feel his fingers lightly stroking her palms.

"They are beautiful." He reiterated "Your fingers are long and delicate and they're incredibly soft…"

She noticed his voiced cracked a little at the end. Was… was Todoroki Shouto getting emotional over her hands? She was about to reassure him when he cut her off.

"I can't believe my curse crushed these hands."

Okay no, she couldn't hold it in. She started laughing much to his surprise.

"Again, Shouto. I don't think there's such a thing as a Hand Crusher Curse but I understand how you feel about not wanting something bad happening to your friends. I um, well I feel the same way when it comes to you."

He couldn't help but smile at her words. Yaoyorozu Momo was just the kind of person that would cheer up her friends no matter what. She was such a great person and even if she didn't have to, she would go out of her way to help others. That and she had really nice hands that he noticed he was still holding.

"Sorry." He quickly blurted out as he let go of them.

Momo didn't immediately pull her hands away. Instead she let them linger for a moment before placing them into her own lap.

"It-it's ok." She said "I didn't mind."

They sat there in silence for a few minutes as the evening breeze lightly blew against them. In fact, it was starting to get a little cold and Momo couldn't help but shiver a little. She should've grabbed a jacket or cardigan before she came out. It seemed Shouto noticed.

"Are you cold, Momo?" he asked.

"Oh just a little, it's fine. It's not too bad."

He felt her shift a little closer to her that he was practically against her body and suddenly felt rather warm. Was it due to him using his left side or because that she was basically snuggling Shouto Todoroki but she could honestly admit that she liked the feeling.

"Thanks."

They continued to sit on the bench as the warmth from Shouto's left side enveloped them. Momo never considered herself the type to just spontaneously do things, especially outside of her comfort zone but she was feeling a little bold today. It didn't help that Shouto had told her he considered her someone close to him, enough to worry about the state of her hands. So she went for it and rested her head on his shoulder. For a split second she felt his body tense up before it relaxed. She almost waited for him to tell her she wasn't comfortable with this level of skinship but it never came. She allowed herself to smile at it. Her eyes glanced down to his hands when she noticed the watch on his wrist. It was starting to get late and they would probably get in trouble for being outside of the dormitory so close to curfew.

"We should probably head back soon." She reluctantly said.

She didn't want this moment to end. She felt his head nod in understanding.

"Yeah, we probably should." He said quietly.

Another few moments of silence passed before he spoke up.

"Hey Momo?"

"What is it?"

"Can I," he began before stopping in his tracks.

"You can ask me." Momo said.

She looked up to him and could barely make out a pink tinge dusting his cheeks beneath the glow of the street light. Boy was he handsome.

"Can I erm," he continued "can I hold your hand again?"

She couldn't help but giggle a little. She stood up and faced him before extending her hand.

"Yeah, you may."

She couldn't help but melt at the genuine smile on his face. He took hold of her hand and stood up beside her. Momo couldn't help but notice that he grew a little since they first met. Without thinking, she interlocked her fingers with his. She looked at him to see if he was okay with this much and he smiled back.

"By the way…" he started to say as his hand held onto hers.

"Yes?"

"I like you."

She couldn't help but giggle. Todoroki Shouto just had that effect on her.

"I gathered that much." She laughed "And yes, I like you too."

She felt his grip on her hand relax a little.

"Good." He smiled before she noticed him pondering another question.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Are we um... are we together now?"

Momo smiled and nodded.

"I would like that, yes." She replied.

He couldn't help but beam at that.

"I would too."

They walked together back towards the dormitory, never letting go of each other's hands. When they entered the common area, Momo noticed Kyouka looking towards them from the couch. Her best friend gave her an approving nod and cheeky thumbs up causing the Creation Hero to blush.

"I'll be back." Shouto whispered to her "Bathroom."

She nodded and reluctantly let go of his hand. It had only been a few minutes but she had already grown fond of the feeling. As she watched him walk into a hallway, she sat beside Kyouka who had a massive grin on her face.

"So I take it something happened?" She teased.

Momo couldn't help but blush and nod.

"Quite a lot, actually."

"You're so giving me all the details."

As Momo recounted a little of what had happened to her best friend (at least, what she felt Shouto would be comfortable with others knowing), they heard someone yell from the nearby hallway. Seconds later Shouto walked out with an amused look on his face.

"What happened?" Momo asked.

He sat down beside her and chuckled. Kyouka looked at the two with curious eyes.

"Well uh, I don't think my curse is real." Shouto said.

"Curse? What curse?" Kyouka asked.

"It seemed those close to me become victims of my Hand Crusher Curse." He explained "The people I care for seem to injure their hands when we become close."

"I told you that it wasn't true." Momo said, taking a hold of his hand in hers again.

"I know that now." He said.

"So what happened just then?" Kyouka asked "To disprove this theory."

Shouto chuckled a little knowing how silly everything had been.

"I accidentally closed the bathroom door on Mineta's hand." He proudly announced.

Both Momo and Kyouka couldn't help but burst out in laughter. Shouto too joined them as he tightened his grip on Momo's hand. The Curse of the Hand Crusher had been proven to be just in his head but he found something better.

He could be the one that holds Yaoyorozu Momo's hand.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

This is my first writing foray into MHA fanfiction and I couldn't not write about my 2 favourite characters. What a coincidence that they also happen to be an OTP. I love what I've seen people do with these characters and I hope you guys found this enjoyable to read too. Hopefully I get a few more ideas and do some more TodoMomo because I'm definitely down to do that.

As I usually do, do give a review on what you liked (or what you didn't) or just let me know your thoughts. If you wanna follow me on twitter, hit me up MadmanJrs.

Til then, take it easy.


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